Kroger ups ante in grocery fight

There’s a food fight brewing in Carytown, where Kroger is about to make a not-so-subtle push to lure customers from the Ukrop’s across the street.

The chain has new carts for bag boys to use when they shuttle customers’ bundles to their cars. Read more

Retail vacancy continues to rise

There are more storefronts in Richmond than ever before; the problem is that more of them are also empty. Commercial real estate brokers say that could mean banks might soon start taking back some retail properties if tenants don’t start signing leases.

The metro area’s retail vacancy rate rose to 6.9 percent in the second quarter, up from 5.5 percent a year ago, according to Thalhimer’s recent market report. And that most recent figure is up from 6.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. Read more